Spiral
by Unknown Soldier Shadow
Summary: Sootfur was a dedicated warrior, serving his Clan with his life and protecting it. When a badger attack unfolds, Sootfur's life flashes before his eyes, reminding him of promises that can never be broken.


**So, this is my first oneshot! Yaaay!**

**There was this challenge at the Miscellany (Which is, by far, the awesomest forum on this website EVER), to write a oneshot under 3, 100 words beginning with the words "He/she couldn't believe his/her eyes" and mentioning strong wind. So, for some odd reason, Sootfur's death scene popped into my mind. Go figure! It must be because I like angsty stories so much. ^^**

**Enjoy!**

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He couldn't believe his eyes.

His Clan…under attack. How could this be? How could StarClan allow this atrocity? Badgers in the camp—killing his Clanmates? Sootfur's mind whirled as he watched the huge beasts claw their way through the thorn barrier of the ThunderClan camp, their eyes sparking with rage.

Immediately, the Clan sprang into action, lashing at the badgers with unsheathed claws and gleaming fangs. Sootfur dove into the fray, slashing his claws down a large male's side, aiming his next blow to the eyes. The badger let out a roar and slammed its forepaws down a mouselength from Sootfur's head.

Sootfur gasped and whirled to the side, trying to avoid those crushing paws. The badger countered with a snapping muzzle, baring its teeth and wheezing its foul-smelling breath right in his face.

"Sootfur!" Thornclaw dug his claws into the hard ground as he knocked him out of the way. "Mousebrain!" he gasped. "Don't you remember anything from your apprenticeship?"

Sootfur curled his lip and lashed out with a forepaw that drew blood from the badger. "Of course I remember!" he snapped.

And who could ever forget those days? Sootfur was just Sootpaw then—a little apprentice who had just lost his mother from one of the very creatures he was now battling. He remembered that day—the way his mother had sacrificed herself for him. He would never forget the screech of agony that she let out right before the badger slammed its full force on her spine…he'd never forget the vow he made to himself that day that he would get revenge on every StarClan-forsaken badger he got his paws on…

"Sootfur! Look out!"

Sootfur glanced up a heartbeat before the badger brought down its claws again for a vengeful strike, but the beast's eyes were too full of its own blood to aim with any accuracy. Sootfur dodged it with ease, slashing his claws down the side of the badger, ripping the pelt of it away and seeing its black fur run scarlet…

The badger gave up, bellowing, and turned and fled.

Thornclaw turned to Sootfur, panting, and mewed, "Good job," just like he had when he was Sootfur's mentor. Sootfur felt the same glow of pride as he did then—even though he'd been a warrior for moons now.

"Thanks, Thornclaw," he rasped in return.

An eerie wail rose from the clearing, sending a bristling chill through Sootfur's light gray pelt. "Who's that?" he asked, dread evident in his voice.

"I…I'm not sure. You go over by the warriors' den," Thornclaw ordered. "I'll go to the nursery."

"Okay," Sootfur agreed, and then he was gone, racing through the tangle of fur and claws. _Hurry, hurry! _he urged himself. He had to follow orders—he had to be a good warrior. _Maybe Firestar will see how I'm battling and give me an apprentice, _he thought hopefully.

Badgers were still wrestling their way into the stone hollow as Sootfur finally managed to force his way to the warriors den. Rushing up to an unsuspecting female, he launched himself onto its back and dug in his claws, worrying the brute's shoulder with his thorn-sharp fangs. "Get out!" he hissed ferociously, even though he knew the badger couldn't understand him. "Get out of my camp!"

The badger snarled and reached up with a forepaw, hooking its claws in Sootfur's long fur and dragging him down. Sootfur looked up into the crazed eyes of the badger, fear and rage flooding his pelt so much that he couldn't speak.

_So this is how it ends. _He had tried to be a good warrior—he really had! All he had ever done was try to please everyone—from his mother, Willowpelt, to the father he barely knew, to his mentor, Thornclaw. When the battle with BloodClan ignited, he and his littermates had been trained as apprentices, even though they were too young to even comprehend the graveness of the situation…

The badger seemed to contemplate the cat in its paws for a few heartbeats, tilting its head this way and that to get a better look at him. Sootfur struggled and thrashed in the badger's grip, but the thick black claws pressed him down into the ground and drove the breath from his body. With slavering fangs, the black-and-white brute leaned down to finish him off. Sootfur closed his eyes as his death drew near, feeling ashamed for his cowardice—he just couldn't look death in the face.

Suddenly, the claws were gone. Sootfur looked up with incredulous eyes as the badger arched its back and let out a fierce roar, a cat clinging to its small, furry ears. "Spiderleg!" Sootfur gasped, fearing for ThunderClan's newest warrior.

The black-and-brown tom hung on stubbornly, gripping the badger's ears with his teeth while raking his hind claws down its face. The badger let out a cry that was more scream than snarl as it shook its head and tried to claw Spiderleg off.

Sootfur wasted no time in leaping at the badger's throat, sinking his claws into the ragged pelt while he scrabbled for a hold. "Spiderleg," he grunted past his mouthful of fur. "Let go. We'll get it from the side."

He barely heard the younger cat's mew of agreement before he relinquished his own hold. Spiderleg was at his side in a heartbeat, and the two toms broke up, dashing on either side of the beast and leaving crimson trails of blood. The badger turned its head to snap its powerful jaws at Sootfur, only to be attacked on the other flank by Spiderleg.

Sootfur saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see Squirrelflight racing after Brambleclaw. _Looks like they're back together now. _The thought sent a pang of wistfulness through Sootfur. He hadn't found a mate yet, but he greatly admired Whitepaw and her spirit. _Maybe one day, we can get to know each other better. _He shut the thought down quickly, forcing himself to concentrate on the battle, even though the thoughts filled him with a small bubble of hope.

"Sootfur!" Spiderleg's voice was shrill as he dodged a blow from the badger's massive forepaws. "Sootfur! Your sister!"

Sootfur froze in place. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have forgotten about Sorreltail and her soon-to-arrive kits? "Mousebrain," he hissed to himself. "We need to get rid of this one quickly!"

Spiderleg growled his agreement, narrowing his eyes and he leapt at the badger's eyes. The creature backed away with a quick shake of its head, gave one last rolling grumble, then was gone.

"Go find Rainwhisker," Sootfur ordered. "We…we're all Sorreltail has left for family."

Spiderleg watched the play of emotion across Sootfur's face without speaking. He silently nodded, then bounded through the heaving mass of cats.

Sootfur twisted his head around to look for any trace of his brother, but the dark gray warrior was nowhere in sight. _Spiderleg will find him, _he reassured himself. _Everything's going to be fine. _

A yowl made him whip his head to the side, shock jolting through his veins as he saw his brother lifted bodily by a badger and heaved into the bushes. Without looking where he was going, Sootfur raced across the clearing, his paws pounding on the dry ground. "Rainwhisker!" he cried, looking down on his brother's motionless body.

Rainwhisker's dark eyes opened slowly, and he let out a soft cry of pain. "Soot…Sootfur?" he asked in confusion.

"I'm here. It's okay—everyone's okay." Sootfur had to bite his tongue to keep the dread out of his voice. Rainwhisker didn't need to hear that at the moment.

Rainwhisker attempted to pull himself into a sitting position, but he quickly gave up with a sharp hiss of pain. "I can't…move my…shoulder," he panted.

Sootfur quickly leaned in to look at the wound: red blood ran freely from the joint, and he could see the white gleam of bone. "Don't move," he ordered him, his voice shaking. "Cinderpelt will have to fix that."

Rainwhisker sank back down on his side. "Help me, Sootfur," he begged, his voice cracking. "I can't move…I'll be killed!"

"Calm down, calm down," Sootfur mewed, panicking. "I'll help you—we can get you to the apprentice's den."

Rainwhisker nodded stiffly, his eyes full of pain and fear. "We're going to die," he rasped.

"No, we aren't," Sootfur snapped. "We have to live to protect Sorreltail. We promised that we would protect her, remember?"

His own mind was filled with that moment. It was at Willowpelt's vigil—Sorrelpaw had mewed softly to her mother's lifeless body, pain evident in her voice, while Rainpaw and Sootpaw had stood back.

"We need to say something to her," Rainpaw had whispered. "But I don't know what."

Sootpaw had sighed. "I know. We've already lost out father…we're all the family we have left."

"What are we going to do?" Rainpaw had demanded, his voice high-pitched with stress. "What are we going to do, Sootpaw?"

"Calm down," Sootpaw had hissed. "I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to survive."

Rainpaw had looked at him with confusion. "What?"

"We're going to live past this. We're going to be great warriors of the Clan, and one day, kits in ThunderClan will say, 'Remember those cats? They were strong—they were survivors.'" Sootpaw had sat back on his haunches. "That's what we're going to do, Rainpaw. We have to protect Sorrelpaw now. She needs us more than ever."

Rainpaw had nodded, his eyes filled with determination. "We'll protect her." His words had the ring of promise to them.

"We'll protect her," Sootpaw had echoed softly, sealing the vow.

Pulling himself back to the present, he locked gazes with his brother, seeing the same determination in his eyes now that he had when they had sworn to protect Sorreltail.

Rainwhisker nodded. "Alright." He got to his paws, leaning heavily on Sootfur's shoulder as they made their way, painfully slow, into the melee.

Sootfur sent a quick prayer up to StarClan as he and his brother twisted through a knot of badgers. The brutes were too busy on their prey—his Clanmates—that they didn't even seem to notice two more cats in their midst.

The apprentice's den was a shallow cave in the side of the hollow, but the mouth was too small to allow any badgers to come through. Sootfur gently eased his brother to the sandy ground. "I wish there was some moss here or something…"

"It's fine," Rainwhisker gasped. "Go…to Sorreltail. Hurry!"

Sootfur nodded, turning his back on his brother and moving to the entrance of the cave. He stopped before he reached the end—one paw raised in mid-air. He quickly whirled around and pressed his nose into Rainwhisker's short, dark fur.

"Hurry!" Rainwhisker repeated, giving Sootfur a rough nudge.

Sootfur dipped his head. "I'll see you when this is over," he vowed.

"And we'll go right to Sorreltail and see her," Rainwhisker finished for him.

Sootfur laughed softly, then dashed out of the den before he could say anything else, praying and hoping that he would be able to keep his promise. _What if he dies from his wounds? What would I do? Sorreltail needs _both _of us. _

A cry rang out through the tumultuous air of the camp—a cry that Sootfur would recognize anywhere. "Whitepaw!" he gasped, terrified for her safety. He turned without another word and raced in the direction he had heard the voice. Badgers and Clanmates alike blurred into incomprehensible shapes in his eyes—his brother and sister…his friends and rivals…

All he could think of was _her. _

And there she was—caught between a badger and the steep-cut cliff of the hollow. Her white fur was stained with blood and her green eyes were wide. He could see that she was out of her mind with terror—a realization that sent his blood burning with the thirst for vengeance.

He leapt at the badger, feeling the hard muscles of it beneath its coarse pelt, and hearing the ear-piercing roar as it slammed its paws on the ground in an attempt to send Sootfur flying. Sootfur redoubled his grip, sinking his teeth again and again into the beast's neck and face, all the while trying to get Whitepaw's attention…trying to scream at her to run away from this death-bringer and back to the safety of the brambles.

But Whitepaw saw none of this. Even at this distance, Sootfur could see that her pupils were dilated with panic and her fear scent seared his nostrils.

He finally released his hold long enough to say, "Run! Get away from here! Go now, Whitepaw!" He made furious gestures with his tail and paws as he tried to tell her to go—to save herself and leave him here.

The badger took advantage of Sootfur's lapse in attention. It bucked its back and sent Sootfur sprawling at Whitepaw's feet. He scrambled to his paws, his pelt covered with dust and blood, and grabbed her by the scruff. He arched his neck and threw her as best as he could out of harm's way and to the safety of the thorns.

The badger, seeing its prey being cast out of view, turned to Sootfur with a murderous rage burning in its small eyes. Despite his terror, Sootfur stood his ground with a bristling pelt and unsheathed claws. "Come on then," he taunted. "Let's see what you can do!"

As if it could understand, the badger roared and began to pad forward, each step slow and deliberate. Sootfur copied the step, pretending in a vague part of his mind that this was just another battle exercise like he had when he was an apprentice. He placed each paw down separately, keeping his eyes locked on the badger's the entire time.

They slowly paced around each other, neither one of them breaking the stare.

_I will destroy you, _Sootfur snarled in his head. _You hurt her…you hurt Whitepaw! _"I'll kill you!" he shrieked out loud, startling the badger with his sudden outburst. Sootfur lunged forward wildly to lash at the badger, but his claws didn't even hit anywhere near it.

The badger smoothly moved out of the way and brought its heavy forepaws down on Sootfur's back.

The warrior screamed in agony.

_No, no! _He thrashed on the ground, strangely not feeling any pain in his hind legs. His flank was bloody and each breath was harder to take. _My hind paws…I can't feel my hind paws!_ He lifted his head weakly to look down at his body, astonished to see his legs twisted and bent in impossible ways. He opened his mouth and let out a screech.

The badger came up and snuffled wetly at him, seeming to be debating something.

"Go ahead!" Sootfur shrieked. "Go ahead and kill me! All your lot are the same—you're all killers!"

The badger took no notice of the cat's curses, lifted its head and letting out a snort before turning and walking away, leaving Sootfur alone in the dark corner of the hollow.

_No…StarClan, no! _He couldn't believe it—his legs…his body…

Gone.

"No," he whispered. "N-no, I will not accept this!" He tried to get his paws underneath him—to _force _his body to obey his will, but it was all in vain. His vision was starting to fade at the edges, like he was looking into a dark tunnel with light behind him. It was like his whole being was a leaf on a strong wind—the wind tugged at him, promising new lands to explore and a resting place, but everything in Sootfur protested against it. Everything was spiraling out of control, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

_No…this wasn't supposed to happen. It's not supposed to be this way! _He wanted to wail the words to the sky and curse everything, but he knew, even in his befuddled state, that it would do no good.

A puddle of blood was slowly growing around his prone form.

Sootfur dropped heavily to the ground, his mind consumed with half-formed pictures and memories: his apprentice ceremony, becoming a warrior, his first patrol…everything he had experienced in his life coming back to him. He saw the Clan without him—Rainwhisker and Sorreltail sitting vigil for him, pressing their noses into his cold gray fur, while he stood behind them yowling, "I'm still here! Look at me!"

"Shut…up," he snarled to himself. "Get…up…and move!" He got his front paws underneath him—just the smallest movement made his head spin. He dragged his now-useless hind paws behind him as he made his way to the edge of the hollow. "Keep…going," he gasped. "Rainwhisker and Sorreltail…they _need _you!"

"Sootfur, over here!"

Sootfur let out a sharp gasp of shock at the voice and lifted his head to look for it, but his vision was swimming. He could barely see his own paws. He wanted to call out, but he had lost his voice somehow.

Someone was nudging his pelt, forcing his to his paws, giving him a shoulder to lean on.

_Whitepaw? _he thought, but then scent washed over him and he distantly recognized Squirrelflight. The she-cat was supporting most of his weight as she guided him towards the back wall.

"You can get out this way." Her voice sounded like she was underwater—Sootfur had to really concentrate to hear the words.

"Can't…can't climb," he told her, but she shook her head impatiently.

"You've got to!" She got her shoulder underneath him and heaved him up against the wall.

_What is she thinking? _But then he felt a ledge under his paws, and he instinctively sank his claws in the cracks in the rock. _Survive, _he told himself. _You must survive. _He forced his wandering mind to focus again as he dragged his useless hindquarters onto the ledge beside him. He looked up and saw the next ledge far out of view. He reached out his paw to it and was surprised to see it was closer than it appeared. _Focus. For Sorreltail. For Rainwhisker. For Whitepaw. _

He dug his claws into the next ledge and was just starting to shift his weight onto it when his claws slipped. He let out a shocked wail as he hit the ground with a thud.

Squirrelflight hissed over his head, and he looked up to see another badger step forward. His pelt bristled as he recognized his own claw marks. _Come to…finish me off, huh? _He lashed out with a forepaw, catching the badger across the face. Somehow the brute caught Squirrelflight and tossed her as if she were a mouse instead of a cat.

And then it was one-on-one.

Sootfur snarled weakly as the badger approached, the same gleam of intelligence in its eyes. Before it even struck, Sootfur knew what was going to happen. He knew that he was going to die. When the badger's teeth met in the warrior's throat, Sootfur's last thought was Sorreltail and her kits. _I guess…they'll have to get by without me, _he whispered in his mind as his life flittered away like a leaf on the wind.

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**So, I have a confession to make.**

**This oneshot is actually not 3, 100 words. It's 3, 204 words. I just couldn't help myself! ^^**

**R&R!**

**Shadow**


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